QDRO delay - earnings & losses

I've been waiting for going on five years for, according to my ex, a signature from her former employer, who had her initial 403(b) plan from which the money is coming from.

I'm curious if I will be receiving the full earnings (or losses) since the Division Date (November 2021), regardless of this continuing delay.

The order states that:

"from the division date to the date the alternate payee's account is established, the amount assigned to the alternate payee will include earnings and losses." 

This "alternate payee's account is established," is this referring to the separate sub-account that was supposed to have been made in my name by the Plan Administrator to divide the funds from her account?  (And confirming that earnings and losses continue in this sub-account.)

I want to confirm that this "alternate payee's account" is NOT referencing the date that I created the account (in Vanguard) that I am having the amount land in.  (and therefore earnings & losses would cease on that date per the order).  

Thank you VERY much for any insight!

Please explain the Vanguard account. Is it an IRA that will receive a rollover of the distribution from the plan of the alternate payee account balance after the plan establishes and funds the alternate payee account?

You did not provide enough information to answer your questions. For example: 

1. The exact name of the 175,000 pension and retirement plans that operate within the USA (not including IRAs). These include about 163,000 ERISA qualified plans, plus about 12,000 Federal, State, County, City, and Municipal Plans, International Plan, and Union and Church sponsored plan that dance to their own tune.  

2. Whether you had a marital settlement agreement and the exact language set forth in that document? 

3. Whether the marital settlement agreed was incorporated but not merged into the Divorce Decree?  

4.  If there was no marital settlement agreement, what was the exact language in the Divorce Decree? 

5. Whether a QDRO or a DRO or a EDRO, or a RBO or other forms of Order was entered by the Court?  

6. Was a certified copy sent to the Plan Administrator or Third Party Administrator or Record Keeper?  

7. Whether during the past 5 years the Third Party Administrator or Record Keeper changed?  New TPAs don't have the records necessary to compute gains and losses.  

8. Note that most IRAs do not compote gains and losses.  

9.  Note the TIAA-CREF do not compute gains and losses on annuity payouts as of January 1, 2023. 

10. Did the Plan Administrator or the Third Party Administrator or the Record Keeper approve or "qualify" the QDRO or other form of court order?  And sent a letter with instructions and did you follow those instructions. 

11  Does the state law permit the allocation of pension and survivor benefits between divorcing parties?  

12.  If you are dealing with a defined contribution plan like a 401(k) or a 403(b) are there any limitations on when an Alternate Payee can receive his/her share of the Participant's benefits.  Some plans do not permit a payout to the Alternate Payee until the Participant is eligible to receive his/her benefits, and that might be at termination of employment (death, quit, retired, terminated. Such plan may have payout options that don't begin to be paid until some future time. 

13. Does your state have any laws (statute of limitations, doctrine of laches) that would limit the time within which you must submit the QDRO to the Plan Administrator.

14. If it possible that you or your lawyer simply failed to send a CERTIFIED copy of the QDRO to the Plan Administrator? Or that it didn't have a date filled in?  Or that you moved to a new home and didn't advise the Plan Administrator of your new address? 

15. It sounds like in your case the intention was to award you a percentage or a hard dollar amount from the Participant's plan as of a division date (the date that it was valued) and that that amount was to be adjusted for gains and losses from that division date to the date that the Plan Administrator segregated your share to a separate account in the plan in your name and for your use and benefit.  From the date you share landed in YOUR account it is YOUR MONEY and would normally the adjusted for gains and losses from that date until the Date of Distribution when you can: (i) roll over all or part of your share tax free to an IRA or to another eligible account; or, (ii) take a taxable distribution (paid directly to you) of all or part of your share. 

16. Or perhaps your former spouse quit or retired or was fired and just took out all of his/her money and paid the taxes on it and has it hidden under the mattress or in a bank in Tierra del Fuego.  

Nevertheless here is a Memo with respect to Gains and Losses that may be helpful to you.

Did you have a lawyer representing you in your divorce? 

DSG    

GAINS AND LOSSES AND INVESTMENT EXPERIENCE 02-04-2025.pdf